Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-27
CHAPTER VIII.
ALPHoNSE EXPLAINS.

CHAPTER VIII
| ALPHoNsE EXPLAINS.
And so the fight WAS ended On turnin.
from this shocking scene it suddenly strucl
me that had seen nothing Of Alphonse sine,
the moment. some twenty minutes before
for though this fight has taken q long whiI'
[ to describe. it did not take long in reality
when l had been forced to hit him in tn,
wind with the result of nearly getting myself
shot Fearing that the poor little man haC
perished in the battle, began to hunt abou,
among the dead for his body; but not being
able either To or hear anything Of it,
concluded that he must have survived ant
walked down the side of the kraal where W,
had first taken our stand, calling him by
name. Now, some fifteen paces back from
the kraal wall stooi a very ancient tree OF
the banyan species. So ancient was it thai
all the inside had in the course Of ages de
cayed away, leaving nothing but a shell OF
bark
"Alphonse!- called, as walked down the
wail-"Alphonse,"
-Oui, monsieur answered . voice "Here
ANIL
looked round, but could see nobody.
"Wherea- cried
Here am l, monsieur, in the tree"
l looked, and there. peering out Of q hole
in the trunk OF the banyan about five f.et
frcu the ground, saw pale face and pair
Of large mustaches, one clipped short and the
other as lamentably out Of curl as the tail Of
a newly whipped pug. Then, for the first
time, I.realized what had suspected before
namely, that Alphonse was an arrant
coward. walked up to him. "Come out
Of that hole" l said.
Is it finishel, MONSIEUR he asked, anx-
iously; quite finished' All, the horrors I
have undergone, and the prayers have
uttered,'
Come out, you little skunk, said, for
did not feel amiable; 1T is all over"
$50, monsieur, then my prayers have pre-
vailed. emerge" and he did.
Thoroughly disguised. left Alphunse to
look after himself, which he did by following
me like a shadow, and proceeded to join the
others by the lnTge entrance. The first thing
that l saw was Mackenzie, seated on "a stone,
with a handkerchief twisted rourd his thigh,
from which he was bleeding freely, having
indeed received a spear thrust that passed
right through 1t, and still holding in his hand
his favorite carving knife; now bent nearly
double, from which / gathered that he had
been successful in his rough and tumble with
the Elmoran
"Ah, Quatermain,' lie sung out, in n trem
bling, excited voice, 80 We have conquered; !;
but 1t Is a sorry sight a sorry sight!' and
then, breaking into broa,! Scotch uIri glauc
ing at the bent knife IN his hand. at flashes
ME sair To hae bent my best carver on the
breastbane OF a savage" and he laughed
hysterically Poor fellowi whit between his
wound ani the killing excitement he had
undergone, his nerves were much shaken,
and no wonder l; is hard upon a man Of
peace. and kindly heart to be called upon to
join in such a grewSome business. But there,
fate puts Us sometimes into very ircnical
pGs:tIonS!
At the kraal entrance the scene wns a
str;nge on. The slaughter was over by now.
and the wounded men had been put out of
their pain. for no quarter had been given.
I he bush closed entrance had been tranIple'i
fiat, ami i'll place of bushes it WIS filed with
the bodies OF dead men. Dead men, every
where dead men; they lay about in knots,
they Were flung by om.s and tw"> in every
position upon the open spaces, for all the
world like the parpl. on the grass i'll one Of
the London parks on particularly hot Sun
day IN August In front of this entrance, on
n space which had been cleared of dead and
Of the shields and spears which were scattered
IN all directions they had fallen or been
thrown from the hands Of their owners stood
aud lay the survivors of the awful struggle,
and at their feet were four wounded men.
We had gone into the fight thirty strong,
and of the thirty but fifteen remained alive.
aud five OF them tincluding Mr.. Mackenzie
were wounded, two mortally. Or thu>e vino
leli the entrance. Curtis and the Zulu alone
Good had lost five men killed,
lai lost two killed and MackenZi. no less than
i've out of the six with him. As for the sur
'ivors, they We're, with the exception of my
elf, who had never come TO Close quarters,
'ed from head 10 foot-Sir Henry's arinor
night have been painted that cOlor-and
Utterly exhausted, except Umslopogaas, who, |
Is lie stool on little mound above IA heap Of |
lead, leaning usual upon his AK, did not |
ecm particularly distressed, although the |
kin over the hole in his head i,alpitated vio- |
entity.
All, Macumazahn." he said To me rs ! |
impe,i up, feeling very sick. Il told thee that |
t would lie Il good fight. and it has Never
ave | seen better, or one more bravely |
ought As for this iron shirt, surely it Is
,.,.a,;,- u,,,;,,h.I ,;..rc.,;,
lad II not been for the garment 1 should |
ave been there" and he nodded toward the
reat pile of dead men beneath him
~ NO. !, So. ,h,v ar, . o,II,u, ma, -
aid Sir Henry, briefly.
,h,, 80, ,,, ,t,,, ,,o,,,,i;,,,, TT,
- -, "a, - ,h,s.'If mas, ,r,
-, ,,.., sn,,,., -. iii ,,,, .,
.,o,, a., ,,,s,. ,br s,r.,,br
~, St., W,.,.t,,;l, -, ,,,,,, Fiji,
~ - ~ -, '-.,,- -, =, -,
be men said he had seen her flying towards
ba house with her nurse. Then bearing such
Z ,b,. wouuI,-i ss coulJ h. moved at TN. mo
,an, viii ms wa sIoxI, r,,Je our vy,v In
'e". ",'A vs. Wv ~ |